Pazhamudir cholai
or Pazhamudir Solai
- which was earlier known as Solai malai, is a holy place near
Madurai, in Tamilnadu - South India. It houses one of the most sacred
temples of Lord Muruga - also known as Arumugan, Karthikeya, Skanda and Kumara - and is the sixth
Aarupadai Veedu
.
Saint poet Nakkerar, in his songs in praise of
Lord Senthil Andavar, places Pazhamudircholai in the sixth place amongst
the six battle places (
Arupadaiveedu
) that Lord Muruga has fought to win over evil.

A few Murugan devotees do consider that Marudamalai
Murugan temple also deserves to be mentioned as one additional Padai Veedu.

Legends/Puranas and Mythology

There
is a famous legend associated with the temple - it is said that
Avvaiyar,
a famous tamil poet and a Muruga Bakthai(Muruga Devotee), came here
when her knowledge was put to test by Lord Muruga, taking the
form of a small boy. It is firmly believed that this episode took
place at a tree near the temple and the tree is worshipped even
today.

Nakeerar, in his Tamil writings
compilation called Thirumurugatruppadai,
more than 2000 years ago, and saint Poet Arunagirinaathar,
who has composed several verses on Murugan, have both sung in great
praise of Lord of Pazhamudircholai.

With exclusive coverage on each temple reverred to as arupadai veedu,
the CD-ROM/ VCD is a must buy for all those who wish to explore the temples,
legends associated, holy waters associated with the temples, various festivals
and other important details which may not be available elsewhere.

It is a Hill temple, located on the top of Azhagar malai hills, on the South west of Madurai
in Tamil Nadu, India. There is an ancient temple of Lord Vishnu
at the foot of the hills, popularly known as Azhagar Koil, and
is one of the 108 sacred temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The
Arupadaiveedu - A Multimedia ecstasy
a CD ROM / VCD on Muruga by
Cybervalley Systems
, India - presents a brief overview of this temple.

The Pazhamudir Solai temple is accessible by Road - Regular buses
are available from Madurai.

The temple construction that
stands today - is of a much recent origin and presents without
elaborate facades and walls. Atop the hill, there is another
temple called
Rakkayi Amman temple
- which is dedicated to Goddess
Parvathi. A small spring - kinown as
Noopura Ganga
runs near this temple. The waters of this mountain spring are considered
to be sacred and devotees to the Subramanya temple of Pazhamudir
solai do not fail to take a bath in this holy spring.

Lord Muruga presents himself
as Sri Subrahmanya, along with his celestial consorts - Valli
and Deivayani (also known as Devasena, the daughter of Indran)
in the main sanctum sanctorum. Here, Valli is considered to be
ICHCHA SAKTHI (Power of will),
Deivayani to be KRIYA SAKTHI (Power of doing) and Lord Muruga himself
is considered to be GNANA SAKTHI (Power of Knowledge).

It is believed that the Lord
was worshipped in the form of a Vel in ancient times.

The stala vriksham for Pazhamudircholai temple
is the
Naval Maram
(reverred by Avvaiyar).

History of the Temple

There are conflicting opinion among the scholars as to the
location of the actual Pazhamudircholai temple - though the one
near madurai is now considered to be authentic by many. No elaborate
history is available for this temple as the temple itself is of recent
origin - though Muruga worship here is several hundered years old.

Temple timings & Festivals

Daily pujas to the deities are performed six times a day (six kalams). Forenoon : Ushat Kalam, Kalasandhi and Uchikala poojas are performed in the and the afternoon poojas commencing from Sayaratchai and Rendam kalam are concluded with Arthajama pooja in the night.

· Pankuni Uttiram festival in March
· Visakam festival in May
· Skanda Shashti festival in October
· Tiru Karthikai festival in Nov/December

Important links

Azhagar Koil, Madurai and Thiruparamkundram are the nearby tourist locations.

Many of those who migrated
away from India, be it the early settlers in South Africa or
the tech-savvy migrants to US - the first generation who have
Lord Murugan in their hearts find it difficult to pass on this
spiritual shield to their children who grow up in alien lands.

This CD exquisitely brings
to life the pujas and certain utsavams of Lord Karthikeya -
To illustrate a few shots...
- the ther (Temple chariot) utsavam of Thiruparamkundram Murugan;
- the Unjal ( Swing) sevai of Tirutchendur Murugan ;
- the Abishekam of Palamuthircholai Murugan or
- the golden chariot of Palani
- are some such scenes that leave a permanent impression in
one's mind.

Peace and tranquility are
the possible benefits of viewing the CD contents - be it in
a group during small functions or alone- in solitude in the
background of darkness. For kids- it will be as much fun as
watching the cartoons - if only the parents take time to explain
the CD contents to their kids with some interest.